Burning Up
by Kylie Anderson
Summary: What seems like an regular case turns out to be something much more deadly especially for one CSI. Will this CSI be able to remember what happened? Or are things just beginning to burn up?
1. Chapter 1

Burning Up

Chapter 1

Smoke filled Calleigh Duquesne's nostrils as she struggled to breathe. She coughed and wheezed on the hot, dense air. "Stay calm," Calleigh muttered to herself. "Stay calm,"

However, Calleigh could not stay calm. The room she was standing in was getting very smoky very quickly. There were not windows and when she attempted to flee through the door, she found its metal hot. That could mean only one thing–the flames were right outside the door. _I'm trapped! I am going to die. Hopefully I'll die of smoke inhalation before the flames get to me…I don't want to be burned alive…Wait! I can't think like that! _Calleigh thought as she dropped to the ground in hope that the air was a little less smoky. _I need to stay calm… _

Calleigh coughed. She was gasping for air. Slowly, she felt herself slipping away into darkness…

((-))

**Ten Hours Earlier**

Eric Delko watched from behind Alexx Woods's shoulder. "Um…is it a male or female?" Eric asked plugging his nose from the horrid smell.

Alexx sighed as she looked at the river and then back at the body. "I'm not sure. The body's been in the water for too long. I'll know more when I get to the lab." Alexx admitted. "Who did this to you sweetie? You look so terrible…"

"So I guess you don't know COD?" Calleigh asked as she made her way over to Alexx and Eric.

Alexx shook her head. "No. It's going to be tough, but I'll try to find out everything I can." Alexx said.

((-))

Horatio Caine walked over to where Detective Frank Tripp was standing looking out at the river. "What happened?" Horatio asked.

Frank shrugged. "A guy who was out fishing found this body floating on the river near the bank…" Frank said trailing off. "This is gonna be an impossible case. Alexx doesn't even know the gender."

"Tough? Yes," Horatio said putting on his sunglasses. "Impossible? No,"

((-))

Ryan Wolfe was photographing the area where the body was discovered. "Do you have anything?" Natalia Boa Vista asked peering over Ryan's shoulder.

"No," Ryan said coldly.

Natalia sighed. "When are you going to forgive me?" Natalia asked.

Ryan simply ignored her and kept taking photographs.

((-))

Alexx looked over at Horatio. "I've determined that this is a female between the ages of 20-30. She was definitely killed with a gunshot wound to the head." Alexx said handing Calleigh a bullet.

"Any idea on the hair color? Eye color?" Horatio prodded.

Alexx smiled. "She has beautiful green eyes. They're almost like yours Calleigh." Alexx said looking up at her.

Calleigh smiled back. "As for her hair color, I'm guessing it's blonde, but the river did so much damage…" Alexx warned.

"Speaking for which, how long do you think she was in the river for?" Calleigh asked.

Alexx sighed. "At least three weeks," Alexx said. "But that's only a rough estimate,"

Horatio nodded. "Did you get any DNA?" Horatio asked.

Alexx shook her head. "It's too degraded." Alexx replied.

"Fingerprints?" Calleigh asked hopefully.

"Sorry sweetheart, the river did too much damage." Alexx said.

"How are we going to identify her?" Calleigh asked.

Alexx brightened up. "I did find something unique…" Alexx said handing Horatio a golden necklace. "It's a locket with a picture of a young girl in it."

"Thank you Alexx," Horatio said walking away with Calleigh right behind him.

The case seemed difficult, but they were sure it would be over soon. If only they truly knew how much more complex it was and how much more dangerous it was going to be…

A/N- This is set after 'Going Under' which is the second episode in the new season.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Horatio and Eric stood on the steps of a modern house. An elderly woman opened the door with a baby in her arms. "Hello?" The woman asked cautiously.

"Hello Mrs. Stein, my name is Horatio Caine and this is Eric Delko. We're with the Miami-Dade Police. I'm sorry to tell you this, but your daughter, Emily Stein…she's gone…" Horatio said carefully.

Mrs. Stein let a few tears out. "I…I sort of guessed that, you know? Emily's been missing for nearly a month now…I tried to prepare myself…" Mrs. Stein muttered.

"May we come in?" Eric asked gently.

Mrs. Stein nodded and showed them to the living room. "This is Erica. She's Emily's daughter…" Mrs. Stein said quietly.

"Did Emily live with you?" Eric asked.

Mrs. Stein nodded. "Emily was raped when she was twenty. She became pregnant as well. She wasn't the same after that. She wouldn't leave the house, so I let her stay with me. She's now twenty one and…she has a job…she was finally getting better…" Mrs. Stein said rocking the baby back and forth as tears filled her eyes.

"Did Emily have any enemies?" Horatio asked.

"Just the bastard that raped her…but he's in jail." Mrs. Stein replied.

"Where did Emily work?" Eric asked.

"At a bank," Mrs. Stein said. "I think it's called 'Trust Union'."

Horatio nodded. "Thank you and I'm sorry for your loss." Horatio said leaving.

((-))

Calleigh examined the bullet they pulled out of Emily Stein's skull. "What is it?" A voice asked from behind Calleigh.

Hearing the voice made Calleigh jump and turn around. She found herself looking directly at Ryan Wolfe. "You scared me!" Calleigh accused.

Ryan shrugged. "I wasn't trying to." Ryan said.

Calleigh sighed. "Well, the caliber is from a .9 mm." Calleigh reported.

"Any way of tracing it?" Ryan asked.

"I was going to run it through our bullet database when you came in and scared me half to death." Calleigh explained with a smile.

Ryan smiled back before leaving Calleigh to her duties.

((-))

Natalia was examining the necklace they had found on Emily's body when she noticed something odd. "Eric?" She asked to the only other person in the room.

"Yeah?" The weary voice replied.

"I think I found something." Natalia said.

Eric looked over her shoulder. "What?" Eric asked.

"White powder," Natalia said looking up at Eric.

"Like in cocaine?" Eric questioned.

One look was all Eric needed to confirm his thoughts.

((-))

"Hmm…cocaine? That is one interesting fact in this case." Horatio said looking at Natalia curiously. "Good eye,"

Natalia blushed. "What do you think it means?" Eric asked.

"I think it means we need to talk to her co-workers." Horatio replied.

((-))

"How long did you know Emily?" Horatio asked a nervous looking woman.

"Three months, five days, twenty seven minutes and ten seconds," The woman replied licking her lips.

Eric exchanged glances with Horatio. "Oh please don't think I'm weird! As I kid I could always keep track of time well. I have a very good memory…" The woman began nervously.

"What did you say your name was again?" Eric asked.

"Melinda Chase," The woman answered. "I was Emily's co-worker and friend. I started working here three months, five days, twenty nine minutes and thirty one seconds ago. Emily was like a mentor to me…are you sure she's dead?"

Horatio nodded. "I'm afraid so. Do you know of anyone that would want to hurt her?" Horatio asked.

Melinda shook her head. "She never mentioned anything to me." Melinda said. "And believe me, I would have remembered."

((-))

"Mr. Finnegan?" Eric called from the doorway of an office.

A young man turned around in a chair. "Ah yes, the detectives!" Mr. Finnegan said acknowledging them to come in. "Please, sit down."

Horatio and Eric sat down in a desk across from Mr. Finnegan. "You're the bank director, is that correct?" Eric asked.

Mr. Finnegan nodded. "My father was the bank director up until last year when he had a stroke. So, the bank became mine to run." Mr. Finnegan said shortly. "Now on the phone you mentioned something about Ms. Emily Stein…?"

Horatio nodded. "I'm sorry to inform you, but Emily is dead." Horatio said watching Mr. Finnegan carefully.

The man simply sighed. "Ah well, she was a nice lady." Mr. Finnegan simply stated.

Horatio seemed surprised. "You don't seem too broken up over the news." Horatio said.

"I just hire people and give them their paycheck. I really don't get to know them much." Mr. Finnegan said. "I know how that must seem, but it's the way I operate this bank."

"I don't suppose you would know of anyone who might want to harm her then, would you?" Eric asked.

Mr. Finnegan shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine." Mr. Finnegan said calmly.

"Thank you for your time." Horatio said coldly as he and Eric left the room swiftly.

"He must have killed her." Eric whispered.

"He's a jerk, but he didn't kill her." Horatio simply replied.

"Then who did?" Eric questioned.

((-))

**Present**

Everything was white. That was the first thing Calleigh noticed. The second thing was how the light seemed to be pure white. "Calleigh?" A man asked from a distance.

Calleigh turned to find herself looking at Hagen, a man who committed suicide right in front of her in her ballistics lab. "You're…you're dead." Calleigh stated in shock.

Hagen laughed. "Yeah, I know. Calleigh I'm sorry I did what I did in front of you…it's just…you were the last straw…" Hagen said.

"I am dreaming?" Calleigh asked.

"Something like that…" Hagen replied.

A/N- Sorry about not updating sooner, I've been really busy!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Calleigh looked alarmed. "Gosh, I'm not dead, am I?" Calleigh asked worriedly.

John laughed. "Calleigh, you're talking to me, but no, you're not dead." John said shortly. "Well, for now anyway…"

Calleigh sighed. "What's that supposed to mean?" Calleigh asked.

"Right now, you're dead, but I believe the paramedics are trying to revive you." John said.

Calleigh backed away from him. "Boy am I going crazy today! Look, I don't believe in this 'out of body' stuff…" Calleigh began before she found the white room turning into blackness again…

((-))

**Seven Hours Previously **

"Were you able to trace the chemical make-up of the cocaine?" Horatio asked.

Natalia shook her head. "It doesn't match anything in any of the databases. Someone could be cooking up a new batch." Natalia answered.

Horatio nodded. "Mr. Wolfe, did you get the toxicology report off of our victim?" Horatio asked looking around the lab.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah. It looks like perfect Emily was doing coke." Ryan answered handing Horatio a folder.

"No one is perfect…" Horatio stated.

((-))

Eric walked into the lab where Natalia, Ryan and Horatio were discussing the cocaine discovery. "I was looking through Emily's credit card records and it seems she would go to a certain café every day." Eric said.

"Hmm…maybe her drug dealer met her there. Even if that isn't the case, someone knows her. Take Calleigh and check it out." Horatio said.

Eric nodded before leaving the room.

((-))

"Have you ever seen this woman?" Calleigh asked handing a waitress a picture of Emily.

The waitress nodded. "Yeah…she's such a sweet gal. She orders a small, black coffee every morning at eight o'clock. However, I haven't seen her in about three weeks." The waitress said cleaning a table.

"Was she ever with anyone?" Eric asked.

The waitress nodded. "Oh yeah! Everyday she would sit with the same guy. She was so pretty and all, but this guy was so scruffy lookin'. She didn't seem like the kind of girl to run with _that _crowd." The waitress said. "Guy had tattoos everywhere and more holes than Swiss cheese!"

Calleigh and Eric smiled at each other. "Does he still come in?" Eric asked.

The waitress shook her head. "Nah…come to think of it, as soon as she stopped coming, so did he." The waitress said. "If anything happened to that sweet girl, I'll bet he had something to do with it!"

"Would you mind looking at some mug shots?" Calleigh asked.

"Not at all dear," The waitress swiftly replied.

((-))

After an hour of looking at mug shots, the waitress finally pointed out one man. He had greasy black hair and an ugly face. "That is him!" The waitress said with conviction.

"Are you positive?" Eric asked.

The woman nodded. "I'm dead sure." The woman said. "No pun intended of course…"

((-))

"The guy our waitress picked out is a guy named Joey Pricks. He has several assault charges as well as some drug charges." Eric announced.

"Joey was her drug dealer." Natalia said.

Calleigh nodded. "It appears that way." Calleigh said. "It also appears that he knew she was dead because as he ever showed up when she was missing."

Ryan sighed. "I think the reason he killed her was because she filed for bankruptcy several days before she went missing. She probably couldn't pay him off for the drugs." Ryan said.

Horatio nodded. "Alright, let's have a chat with Mr. Pricks." Horatio said.

((-))

**Present **

Calleigh found herself alone in the white again. "What if I'm dying?" Calleigh asked out loud. "How am I dying? What happened?"

Calleigh began to cry. "I don't want to die." Calleigh muttered. "I don't want to die."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Three Hours Previously **

Calleigh rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Where is Joey Pricks?" Calleigh asked. "We searched his house, his garage…It's like he disappeared."

Ryan yawned. "Yeah…he could have skipped town…" Ryan muttered.

Horatio noticed how restless and tired his team was getting. "Let's call it a day, alright?" Horatio said gently. "We'll start fresh tomorrow."

Natalia nodded. "Sounds like a deal to me," Natalia said grabbing her coat.

Eric sighed. "Yeah, that's fine with me." Eric agreed.

One by one they filed out of the room.

((-))

Calleigh walked over to her car. She unlocked it and set her purse down. She put the key in the engine and then…it was blank…

((-))

**Present **

Calleigh awoke in a white room again. She noticed that tears were rolling down her face. She blinked and realized she was in a hospital room. A nurse noticed she was awake. "Hello dear, my name's Jessica. What's yours?" The nurse asked in a false cheery voice.

"Calleigh Duquesne," Calleigh said as if she were in a dream.

"Is there anyone I can call?" The nurse asked.

Calleigh nodded. "I'm with the crime lab…can you call Horatio Caine? He's my boss…" Calleigh said quietly. "W…what happened?"

The nurse looked at Calleigh surprised. "You don't remember dear?" The nurse asked.

Calleigh shook her head. _If I knew, why would I be asking you? I hate it when people ask such stupid questions! _Calleigh thought. "What's the last thing you remember?" The nurse questioned.

"I was getting into my car after work." Calleigh said shortly.

"What time was that?" The nurse asked.

"Four in the afternoon," Calleigh replied getting impatient.

The nurse looked at her worriedly. "That was three hours ago…" The nurse said walking out looking for a doctor.

((-))

"Hello Calleigh, I'm Dr. Strauss. I hear that you can't remember what happened in the last three hours." A male doctor asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Calleigh replied. "What happened to me?"

Dr. Strauss shrugged. "We were really hoping you could tell us that. A short while ago, paramedics were rushed to a blazing warehouse. You were trapped inside unconscious. You…died a few times, but our paramedics were able to revive you." Dr. Strauss said. "However, that was only about a half-hour ago. Two and a half hours are still unaccounted for."

Calleigh felt tired and all she wanted to know was what happened to her. "Have you called Horatio?" Calleigh asked quietly.

Dr. Strauss nodded. "He's on his way. Calleigh, I must warn you, you'll probably be very weak for a while. You're suffered major head trauma. You have a few broken ribs and you had quite a beating. I must also warn you that you may never regain memory of what happened during those three hours." Dr. Strauss said kindly.

"Will I have to stay in the hospital?" Calleigh asked quietly.

Dr. Strauss sighed. "Yes, probably for a few days at the least." Dr. Strauss said.

((-))

"How are you feeling?" Horatio asked sitting beside Calleigh's hospital bed.

Calleigh shrugged. "It's not like in the movies, you know? Usually the person can't remember who they are and then all of a sudden they get better…" Calleigh said fading off.

Horatio sat listening intently. "What is it like?" Horatio asked calmly.

"I know who I am! I know who the president is; I know the date, the year, the month; I know you, Eric and everyone else, but I can't remember what happened to me in the past three hours!" Calleigh said frustrated.

Horatio put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax," Horatio said gently. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Calleigh sighed. "I was leaving the lab. I got into my car, put the key in, but from there, it's blank." Calleigh said. "It's like I didn't even live those three hours…"

Horatio sat up straight. "Your car?" Horatio asked. "It wasn't found at the crime scene or at the lab…Something happened to you in-between the lab and the crime scene…"

Calleigh closed her eyes. "How are we ever going to find out what happened?" Calleigh asked.

"We'll follow the evidence." Horatio said with a smile.

Calleigh opened her eyes. "Am I ever going to remember?" Calleigh asked.

Horatio nodded. "I'm sure you'll be able to, but don't force it, okay?" Horatio asked softly. "If you need me, just call."

Calleigh smiled. "I will." Calleigh said.

Horatio watched Calleigh closely. He then carefully chose his words. "Calleigh, the paramedics found you unconscious…" Horatio said shortly.

Calleigh closed her eyes. "A rape kit?" Calleigh asked quietly.

Horatio nodded. "We'll have a forensic nurse check you out, okay?" Horatio asked.

"Just make sure whoever it is, is through." Calleigh simply requested.

"Of course," Horatio said squeezing Calleigh's hand. "Of course,"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Once Horatio left Calleigh's room, he was bombarded with questions. "Is she alright?" A worried Natalia asked.

"What happened?" Eric questioned.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ryan asked.

Horatio put up his hand to silence them. "Calleigh can't remember the past three hours. It's up to us to figure out what happened to her." Horatio explained.

((-))

Horatio looked at the charred room of where the paramedics said they found Calleigh. "This warehouse is owned by some old man who forgot he even owed it." Ryan reported. "Basically, it's abandoned."

"This room has no windows and only one exit." Horatio commented.

"Based on the burn pattern from outside, that door was blocked by fire." Eric said grimly.

"So she had no way out?" Natalia asked.

Horatio sighed. "No. She was left in here to die." Horatio said with slight anger in his voice.

Horatio's phone rang. He quickly answered it and then hung up. "That the Miami-Dade police, they found Calleigh's car." Horatio announced. "Eric, come with me."

((-))

Eric looked taken back when they approached her car. Bullet casings were everywhere. Calleigh's car was damaged on the driver's side. The passenger side door was open suggesting that Calleigh took cover there. "This looks like a war zone." Eric commented.

"Calleigh lives a short while from here. The crime lab is in the opposite direction." Horatio stated. "She was ambushed when she was going home."

"With the damage on the driver's side, I think someone ran into her. The force of the other car stopped her and that's when they started shooting. The driver's door was crushed shut, so she used the passenger side door for cover as she shot back." Eric hypothesized.

"Let's see if the evidence says the same thing." Horatio said collecting bullet casings.

((-))

Horatio entered Calleigh's room. She was already sitting up alert. "The nurse said you found something…" Calleigh prompted.

Horatio smiled before giving her a sad look. "Do you remember being ambushed?" Horatio asked.

Calleigh looked surprised. "No…" Calleigh said. "Was I?"

Horatio sighed. "It looks that way. We found your gun at the crime scene along with many bullets. Calleigh, do you have any enemies?" Horatio asked.

Calleigh laughed bitterly. "I understand that this is routine, but I mean…it's like asking you if you have any enemies. Of course I do! Practically everyone I put away hates me…" Calleigh said.

Horatio nodded. "There wasn't anyone outside of work…" Horatio asked.

Calleigh shook her head. "Not to my knowledge," Calleigh replied.

Horatio smiled. "Thanks," Horatio said as he left the room.

Once in the hallway, the nurse gave Horatio several evidence bags. "She kept correcting me when she felt I wasn't collecting the evidence well enough." The nurse said with a smile.

Horatio smiled back. _That's Calleigh for you! _Horatio thought.

((-))

Horatio entered the lab where it seemed oddly quiet. He gave the evidence bags to the DNA tech. "I need you to run these ASAP." Horatio ordered.

The DNA tech nodded. "Yes sir," The DNA tech replied.

With that, the DNA tech set straight to work.

((-))

Horatio met up with Eric in the ballistics lab. "I miss Calleigh already." Eric joked. "She would have already been done by now."

Horatio gave him a small smile. "What do you have?" Horatio asked.

"Calleigh shot a total of twenty seven times. I found all of her casings, but I haven't been able to find the actual bullets yet." Eric said.

"Twenty seven times? That's a lot of ammo," Horatio stated.

Eric nodded. "She probably would have fired more times, but I believe she ran out of ammo. That's when I think she dropped her gun. However, I did find six other kinds of bullets. Most of them were from high powered rifles." Eric said.

"Six different kinds of bullets, six different shooters," Horatio concluded.

"Yeah, I found literally hundreds of bullets and casings. This wasn't an ambush H, this was a war." Eric said quietly.

"Did you find anything else besides bullets?" Horatio asked.

Eric nodded. "I think after they realized she was out of ammo, they took her. I found a tire mark. It belongs to a large van. However, in Miami alone there are hundreds of them." Eric reported.

"Only one of them ambushed Calleigh," Horatio said putting on his sunglasses and walking out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Horatio entered the DNA lab with a grim face. He did not want to hear the results of the tests for fear of what he might hear. "What did you find?" Horatio asked slowly.

The DNA tech could sense Horatio's tenseness. "Um…the rape kit came up negative. Your CSI was not raped." The DNA tech said immediately.

Horatio let out a silent breath of relief. "Anything else?" Horatio asked.

The DNA tech nodded. "Yes, your CSI put up one heck of a fight." The DNA tech said. "I found skin tags underneath her nails. They belong to Joey Pricks. I also found a few human hairs on her shirt and they too belong to Joey Pricks and another man named James Still."

Horatio smiled. "Thank you," Horatio said walking out of the lab swiftly.

((-))

"H!" Eric shouted in the hallway trying to get Horatio's attention.

Horatio turned. "Yes?" Horatio asked.

"I found some paint transfer on Calleigh's car. It matches a large van and then I thought of our recent case. So, as it turns out, Joey Pricks, the guy we suspected for murdering Emily Stein, owns a white van that has the same tire tread and paint as what we found at the crime scene." Eric reported.

Horatio smiled. "All roads lead to Joey Pricks," Horatio said. "Come with me Eric,"

((-))

Horatio explained the situation to Eric, Ryan, Frank and Natalia. "We now know that, without a doubt, Joey Pricks was involved in what happened to Calleigh. We have a search warrant as well as an arrest warrant. We're going over to his house now. However, I must warn you, we cannot seek revenge, is that understood?" Horatio said seriously.

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's go." Horatio said standing up immediately.

((-))

Joey Pricks opened the door to his small home. "Yeah, I knew you'd be coming for me." Joey said with a smile. "I hear one of your CSI's is dead…too bad…"

Horatio quickly put the handcuffs on Joey Pricks. "She's not dead." Horatio hissed.

Joey's smile faded. "That bitch did have a lot of fight, but there's no way she could have lived that…" Joey muttered.

"Oh, she lived and she's telling us exactly what happened." Ryan lied suddenly feeling very protective of Calleigh.

Joey sighed as he was dragged out of his house. "Alright, I'll tell you what happened and who I worked with, but I want a deal." Joey said.

"If you talk, we just might not kill you right here." Eric scowled. "'Cause I think I saw a gun…"

"You guys wouldn't do that…" Joey said looking fearful.

"Want to bet?" Frank muttered.

Joey sighed. "Here's what happened…" Joey began.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Horatio entered Calleigh's room. She was awake and reading a large book. "Horatio!" Calleigh said with a smile.

Horatio smiled back. "Calleigh, we got the results of the DNA tests back." Horatio said looking at her carefully.

Calleigh looked slightly fearful, but nodded. "What did you find?" Calleigh asked trying to make her voice not shake.

"You weren't raped." Horatio said gently.

Calleigh smiled. "That's good." Calleigh said quietly.

Horatio pulled six photos out of his pocket and handed them to Calleigh. "Do you know any of these men?" Horatio asked.

Calleigh looked at Joey Pricks's picture. "Yes, he's Joey Pricks." Calleigh said looking up at Horatio. "He murdered Emily Stein."

"Do you know him from anywhere else?" Horatio pressed.

Calleigh closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I still don't remember what happened." Calleigh said. "The doctor doubts I ever will."

((-))

Eric found the lead pipe right where Joey said he would find it. There was blood and hair on the end of it. He had no doubt it would match Calleigh's DNA.

Next to Eric, Ryan was sifting through the guns that Joey said were used in the ambush. "Who would do this to someone else?" Eric asked photographing the lead pipe.

"Someone who wanted to keep a secret," Ryan replied.

((-))

Calleigh looked at another photo. "Wait…I…I've seen him." Calleigh said as memories started flooding back to her. "I think I know what happened."

**Flashback **

_Calleigh got into her car and started the engine. She flipped through the radio channels until she found her favorite one and then backed out of the parking space. She was driving home on a small back street when something caught her eye. She shut off the radio and got out of the car. It was glinting in the heated sun. _

_Every bone in Calleigh's body was telling her something was wrong. She made her way to the object and realized it was a gun. Surprised, Calleigh took photographs and bagged the gun as she always kept a forensic kit in her car. She got into her car and was about to turn around back to the lab when something out of nowhere hit her car. _

_She heard gunshots and then crawled over to the passenger side where she opened the door, found her gun and starting shooting back. She had plenty of bullets with her and she kept refilling the barrel until she didn't have anything left. She flung the useless gun to the ground and attempted dialing 911 when someone came behind her. _

_Calleigh was trying to fight him off, but he was much too strong for her. Another man grabbed the gun that Calleigh had collected for evidence while another grabbed the camera. She was shoved into the white van and it sped off. _

_Within minutes, it reached an old warehouse. Several men pulled her out of the van. One of them grabbed a lead pipe. "I'll forget I ever found that gun!" Calleigh pleaded. "Just let me go! I'm not any threat to you!" _

_One of the men laughed before striking her with the lead pipe. Another man kicked her and soon she was being kicked, punched and hit with a lead pipe, bare fists and other objects that she had no idea what they were. After ten minutes, Calleigh was bleeding very badly. "Let's stop with this and kill her now." One growled. _

_They dragged her into the old warehouse where they locked her in a small office area. She began to smell smoke. Her first thought was a window, but there were not windows in this office. When she reached for the handle, it was burning hot. She knew that meant that the fire was right outside the door. _

_Calleigh dropped to the floor hoping the air would be less smoky, but it was not. She slowly felt herself falling into a welcome blackness…_

**Present **

Horatio nodded. "That's exactly what Joey Pricks said." Horatio said gently. "We got all six men. They're not going to see the light of day for a while."

Calleigh smiled. "Thank you so much." Calleigh said.

"No thank you Calleigh. You were the one who got the DNA evidence." Horatio said. "Did I mention that one of the men had a nasty bite on his arm? It matches your dental records. Without you leaving forensic evidence, we might not have been able to figure out who did this."

Calleigh felt relieved. Everything was over. "The doctor said I can leave tomorrow and go back to work soon." Calleigh said.

"I look forward to that." Horatio said gently. "Get some rest."

((-))

Eric smiled at Ryan. "Did you hear Calleigh's coming back tomorrow?" Eric asked.

Ryan shook his head. "Oh boy, I guess that means you two can flirt again…" Ryan muttered with a smile.

"We don't flirt!" Eric said taken back.

"Of course not! Calleigh doesn't flirt with you, but you sure do flirt with her!" Ryan said.

Eric shook his head. "Whatever…" Eric said turning back to his work.

((-))

Ryan watched as Natalia filed a report in a metal filing cabinet. "Hey," Ryan said softly from behind her.

Natalia turned. "Oh am I not filing this right?" Natalia said bitterly.

"You asked me when I'm going to forgive you." Ryan said carefully. "I'm never going to forgive you for what you did, but I hope we can still work together."

Natalia shrugged. "Fine," Natalia said carelessly.

"Fine," Ryan replied.

((-))

**One Day Later**

Calleigh walked into the lab and made her way to the ballistics lab. She settled down among her guns and for once, felt at ease. "Hey Calleigh!" Eric called.

Calleigh turned to see Ryan, Frank, Horatio, Eric and Natalia standing at a desk with a large cake in the middle. She smiled. "You guys didn't have to do this…" Calleigh said slightly embarrassed.

"I hope you don't think we did this for you! We just wanted the cake…" Frank joked.

Calleigh laughed. "Well, I guess Miami's really burning up these days…especially the quality of the detectives…" Calleigh joked back.

"Yeah, yeah," Frank muttered.

Eric and Ryan were fighting over a piece of cake. Everyone was chatting happily. Calleigh had ever felt better in her life.

**The End **

A/N- This was my first CSI: Miami piece. I hope you liked it! If you liked this story, check out my other stories!

Kylie Anderson


End file.
